WH slams Fla. bill that would limit discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in schools

At the White House briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Jen Psaki criticized a Florida bill that would restrict discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in schools. Psaki said the legislation, dubbed by some critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is designed to target and attack kids in the LGBTQ community.

Video Transcript

- This afternoon, the White House issued a statement criticizing Florida legislation that would restrict classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity. It's relatively rare for the White House to weigh in on state-level legislation. So if you can speak about the decision to weigh in on this particular bill, and why this issue rose to the level that the White House wanted to put something out there?

JEN PSAKI: Well, for those of you who weren't following this, maybe all of you were, but let me first say that every parent, as one myself, too, hopes that our leaders will ensure their children's safety, protection, and freedom. And today, conservative politicians in Florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack the kids who need the support the most, kids from the LGBTQI Plus community, who are already vulnerable to bullying, and we've seen that in study after study, and violence just for being themselves and just for being who they are.

Make no mistake, this is not an isolated action in Florida. Across the country, we're seeing Republican leaders taking action to regulate what students can or cannot read, what they can or cannot learn, and most troubling, who they can or cannot be. This is who these kids are. And these legislators are trying to make it harder for them to be who they are. So we felt it was important to speak out against this action, and speak really-- and felt it was important to do that today.